The first year I applied for London I did Stratford instead. I've also done the half since. It is a very nice race, and you can take advantge of all the London training plans and pre-race half marathon races, as it is around the same time.

I think that having the on-line entry open just after its been on TV (especially when the race was on a nice dry day) only encourages lots of people to enter on the spur of the moment, thereby using up all the allocated ballot spaces - I wonder how mnay are so keen when they get told in October to pay their money because they're in and common sense has kicked in?

At least with the paper entries you could put them in until August time, and you had to make an effort to go and get a magazine. Making it a couple of clicks is a lot more convenient, but then that also makes it a problem?

I got in purely by the skin of my teeth - I tried on Wednesday as I was bored, and got in, but I thought I had a lot longer - I would have missed out if I'd have stuck to my plan of looking at the weekend... And I have 5 rejections too, so all that would have been wasted.

I think I have been very very lucky - I have 5 rejections, and looked to enter when it opened, but the site was down due to high demand, so I just thought I would leave it a while. I too thought it would be open for quite a while, but purely by chance through a bored moment at work, I tried on Wednesday, and got straight through.... Looking at these posts I think I have been very lucky as I too would have wasted 5 years of applications if I had not been bored at that precise moment, as 24 hours later it was all over.

However, having rang to check they have all my rejections (thinking the first was in a previous name) they said they only have a record of me entering in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

I have all my rejection slips, but how can you prove they belong to you - there's only one that actually has my name and address on (and it's not 2007), all the rest are just generic letters saying "Dear Runner"?

I was a bit surprised it closed so quickly - I think with the postal entries being accepted for months previously there was a feeling you could apply any time and still get in the ballot - purely by chance I did my entry on Wednesday and I'm glad I did now or I wouldn't have got in...

I have 5 rejections since 2005 so should get a place this time, although they've told me they don't seem to have a record of 2007...!